James LaBrie Solo

[bosk1]

This is really good.  And here, I really like the screamy vocals in the background.  They allow James to take a more "soaring" vocal approach during the choruses while having more aggressive vocals underneath to match the aggressive riffing.  Very nice combination.  Me likey.

[FinkPloyd]

Screaming vocal doesn't bother me at all and this makes I NEED YOU better than ONE MORE TIME. 

[Zydar]

I also like this one better

[TL]

Good track.
Still not crazy about the screaming, but it's a lot less prominent on this one, so I can get past it. James sounds great.

[Adami]

It was too compressed for me to really judge. It sounded like a bunch of noise at times which I clearly attribute to the quality of online. Once I have the CD I'll hopefully like it more.

[ACID_FOX]

Man, I'm not liking the sound of this new album so far.

[Adami]

I also am not sure I like the drumming on the new song. It might just be the quality so I won't judge yet, but it sounds like the beats are pretty hyper, which is usually a big distraction to me as it can easily make many of the parts sound un even. But the prog heads will love it.

[wolfking]

This song kicks ass.  I think I like One More Time a little more, but this album is gonna slay, can't wait!!!

[LudwigVan]

I like it.  

And I find it ironic that JLB has been able to incorporate RORORORO vocals so successfully on his solo album, something which MP has been trying so hard to do (with mixed results) on the past couple of Dream Theater albums.  

[bosk1]

And I find it ironic that JLB has been able to incorporate RORORORO vocals   

  Where?

[Perpetual Change]

Why does everyone keep pretending that there's no growls in Dream Theater or JLB's solo songs?

Call it whatever you want: RORORO, Growls, Screams, Grunts, Rasps, Shouts, etc.

The point is that they're a harsh type of vocals that different than what a lot of us are used to hearing in Dream Theater, and thus bad. 

[LudwigVan]

They even state their intention to do so explicitly:

"Musically speaking, 'One More Time' is sort of a marriage of old-school progressive elements and modern melodic death metal," guitarist/keyboardist Matt Guillory told Noisecreep.

[bosk1]

Why does everyone keep pretending that there's no growls in Dream Theater or JLB's solo songs?

Because there aren't any.  Growls and screams are not the same style at all. 

[Ultimetalhead]

Why does everyone keep pretending that there's no growls in Dream Theater or JLB's solo songs?

Because there aren't any.  Growls and screams are not the same style at all. 

Bosk speaks the undeniable truth.

[The Letter M]

Why does everyone keep pretending that there's no growls in Dream Theater or JLB's solo songs?

Because there aren't any.  Growls and screams are not the same style at all. 

Bosk speaks the undeniable truth.

Indeed. For example:

Screams - What JLB does in the background of a section of "In The Name Of God"
Growls - What MP does on his vocal part in "A Nightmare To Remember"

-Marc.

[Ultimetalhead]

Why does everyone keep pretending that there's no growls in Dream Theater or JLB's solo songs?

Because there aren't any.  Growls and screams are not the same style at all. 

Bosk speaks the undeniable truth.

Indeed. For example:

Screams - What JLB does in the background of a section of "In The Name Of God"
Growls - What MP does on his vocal part in "A Nightmare To Remember"

-Marc.

Not quite.

Screams - What this guy is doing on the new JLB album.
Growls - What Akerfeldt does.

[LudwigVan]

Maybe RORORORO or death growls was the wrong terminology.   But my point is the attempt to incorporate some form of harsh vocals in either DT music or JLB solo.  My bad for lumping the various harsh vocals styles into one.  

Why does everyone keep pretending that there's no growls in Dream Theater or JLB's solo songs?

Call it whatever you want: RORORO, Growls, Screams, Grunts, Rasps, Shouts, etc.

The point is that they're a harsh type of vocals that different than what a lot of us are used to hearing in Dream Theater, and thus bad. 

edit:  Exactly my point.

[wolfking]

I think harsh vocals is the perfect term.

[Perpetual Change]

I think it's unfair to say that mike doesn't growl in ANtR. If you listen closely, that last "survived!" definitely stretches into a growl.

[Adami]

I think it's unfair to say that mike doesn't growl in ANtR. If you listen closely, that last "survived!" definitely stretches into a growl.

No.

[The Letter M]

Why does everyone keep pretending that there's no growls in Dream Theater or JLB's solo songs?

Because there aren't any.  Growls and screams are not the same style at all. 

Bosk speaks the undeniable truth.

Indeed. For example:

Screams - What JLB does in the background of a section of "In The Name Of God"
Growls - What MP does on his vocal part in "A Nightmare To Remember"

-Marc.

Not quite.

Screams - What this guy is doing on the new JLB album.
Growls - What Akerfeldt does.

I refrained from using that as an example mostly because that's where the contention of the definition seems to be - people are calling "what this guy is doing on the new JLB album" growls, not screams.

But you're right, he's doing screaming vocals, not growling. Screaming, I think, involves using dynamics (loudness) to change the timbre of the vocals (harshness), where as growling involves a guttural, more throat-involved resonance to produce something that isn't necessarily loud, but still not clean.

-Marc.

[Perpetual Change]

I think it's unfair to say that mike doesn't growl in ANtR. If you listen closely, that last "survived!" definitely stretches into a growl.

No.

Yes?

[bosk1]

Dude, not it's not. 

[Perpetual Change]

Well, wait, not the word "survived" itself but the "hu!" that comes after. That definitely stretches into a growl.

[Adami]

Well, wait, not the word "survived" itself but the "hu!" that comes after. That definitely stretches into a growl.

No.

[bosk1]

"Stretches into dumb" and "stretches into a growl" are not the same.

[Ultimetalhead]

Well, wait, not the word "survived" itself but the "hu!" that comes after. That definitely stretches into a growl.

No.

[Perpetual Change]

"Stretches into dumb" and "stretches into a growl" are not the same.

 

I really do sympathize with the frustration about all harsh vocals being called "growls," especially since the way that description gets tossed around here is inaccurate and almost always carries a negative connotation.

In the case of ANtR, though, I really can't blame people for being confused. As Portnoy already stated, his vocal section was originally intended to be growls. And then he dumbed it down to something that sounds like slightly-guttering hollering, only with a growled "roar" at the end, even though he's growled it multiple times on the Black Clouds tour.

The final result is just as mixed as people's perceptions of what it actually is supposed to be. For people who don't listen to growls or harsh music, it comes across as being much greater than the normal Portnoy tough-guy vocals. For people who like growls and harsh music, its too watered down to be impressive.

[MetalManiac666]

Wow, I really like both songs.  The chorus in "I Need You" with those soaring majestic vocals from JLB with the screaming in the background, I love it.

[MajorMatt]

I Need You:
https://www.revolvermag.com/music/detail/james-labrie/

Matt

[ariich]

Sounds great!

Looking forward to the new album quite a lot.

[Bertielee]

For those of you who can read french, go and have a look on Yourmajesty.net, the French DT site and read the opinion on the whole album as wriiten by Valhall. It hurts. I know it all comes down to a matter of taste, but still...

Link : https://forum.yourmajesty.net/viewtopic.php?t=6180&start=90


B.Lee

[Gorille85]

Well, wait, not the word "survived" itself but the "hu!" that comes after. That definitely stretches into a growl.

No.

For those of you who can read french, go and have a look on Yourmajesty.net, the French DT site and read the opinion on the whole album as wriiten by Valhall. It hurts. I know it all comes down to a matter of taste, but still...

Link : https://forum.yourmajesty.net/viewtopic.php?t=6180&start=90


B.Lee

Yeah he's pretty harsh to JLB...

[LCArenas]

I like the new song and it grew on me faster than "One More Time". Also the screaming is starting to finally fit into the songs, though it's still annoying in some parts.



Also both song Choruses are pretty awesome.

[TL]

For those of you who can read french, go and have a look on Yourmajesty.net, the French DT site and read the opinion on the whole album as wriiten by Valhall. It hurts. I know it all comes down to a matter of taste, but still...

Link : https://forum.yourmajesty.net/viewtopic.php?t=6180&start=90


B.Lee

The main thing I got from that is realizing how badly my ability to read/speak French has deteriorated.